


Then Came the Songbird

by AceTrainerHope



Series: Within the Walls of Garreg Mach [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, G/T, Gen, borrower!Bernadetta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22519594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceTrainerHope/pseuds/AceTrainerHope
Summary: During one of Bernadetta's routine visits with Petra, things don't exactly go according to plan.
Relationships: Bernadetta von Varley & Petra Macneary, Dorothea Arnault & Bernadetta von Varley
Series: Within the Walls of Garreg Mach [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620190
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33





	Then Came the Songbird

In the weeks that followed their first encounter, Bernadetta made an effort to try and visit Petra almost every day—rarely for much longer than an hour or so. The two girls would usually just sit and chat for a while, calling it a day whenever Bernadetta decided she was ready to leave.

That wasn’t to say that she didn’t enjoy spending time with Petra, though! Actually… it was quite the opposite. Truth be told, it wasn’t long before Bernadetta started really looking forward to those visits. 

Petra continued to be just as kind as when they’d first met, always making sure that Bernadetta was comfortable and never forcing her to do anything she didn't want to do. Most importantly, Petra also respected the fact that Bernadetta was still extremely wary about being held. 

And… well… if Bernadetta was being honest, before she met Petra, she'd been feeling pretty lonely. She _did_ live on her own, after all. And even though she knew of several other borrowers who also called the monastery home, she rarely ever interacted with any of them.

Nevertheless, today was a new day, and with that new day came yet another trip to Petra’s dorm room. 

After arriving through the secret entrance hidden behind Petra’s desk, the young borrower wasn’t all too surprised to find that her much taller friend was absent at the moment. Sometimes Petra would be there, relaxing in bed or catching up on her studies, but other times she might be stuck in class for a bit longer than usual. 

Bernadetta didn’t mind waiting, though. It wasn’t like she had a busy schedule to keep to. She didn't even really need to go out borrowing as often anymore—not since Petra started gifting her little snacks every now and then. 

Most borrowers were probably too proud to accept any sort of handouts like that, but Bernadetta found it nearly impossible to say no. Not because she was lazy—okay, maybe that was _part_ of it—but she just couldn’t bring herself to reject such kind gestures. To know that Petra actually _wanted_ to help her… it just felt so nice.

Regardless of that, though, Bernadetta took her sweet time climbing to the top of Petra’s desk. Once she got there, she took a seat and made herself comfortable, prepared to wait for however long she might need to. 

Which actually turned out not to be long at all.

Hardly more than ten minutes later, the sound of the door opening had Bernadetta practically leaping back up onto her feet, eager to greet her friend.

“H-Hey there, Petra! I-I hope your classes weren’t too… t-too…”

Her voice vanished as soon as she realized that the girl standing in the doorway was most definitely _not_ Petra. Not with that porcelain skin and long brown hair. 

…Or with those bright green eyes that were now staring right at Bernadetta, wide and full of shock. Because obviously her greeting had immediately drawn this new human’s attention.

Panic hit her like a slap across the face.

She didn’t have the wrong room, did she? No, no. Of course not. Bernadetta knew what Petra’s room looked like, and this was definitely it. But then… who was this other girl? And why did she just come barging in? Not that the young borrower planned on sticking around to ask. Even if she wouldn’t be able to make it down to the floor and through her secret entrance in time, she certainly wasn't about to just sit there and do nothing.

With no better options, Bernadetta darted for the closest source of cover she could find, ducking behind a relatively small stack of books situated near the back corner of the desk.

She held her breath and waited, silently praying that the other girl would write her off as a vivid hallucination and just leave.

For a moment, everything was quiet.

Unfortunately, that moment didn’t last nearly as long as Bernadetta would’ve wanted it to.

Slow footsteps approached at a tentative pace, undoubtedly bringing the human closer and closer to her pitiful hiding spot. 

It hardly came as a surprise when the books were effortlessly picked up and moved down to the floor, leaving the young borrower completely exposed. Those same emerald eyes were locked onto her once more, although they showed more curiosity than shock this time around.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise,” the brunette eventually spoke up. “I never would’ve expected Petra to have such an interesting little friend.” For some reason, the amused smile that graced her features as she said that made Bernadetta incredibly uneasy—moreso than she already was, that is. 

And when Bernadetta didn’t give any sort of verbal response, the human continued.

“My name is Dorothea, by the way. What’s yours?”

It was just like when she’d first met Petra all over again—pure terror left Bernadetta at a total loss for words, even when it came to something as simple as her own name. Except this time, Dorothea already knew for a fact that Bernadetta _could_ speak, thanks to her mistaken greeting a few minutes ago.

And with her continued silence, the human leaned in even closer, eliciting a soft yelp from the young borrower.

“Hey now, it’s alright. There’s no need to be afraid of little old me,” the brunette soothed. “Any friend of Petra’s is a friend of mine.” 

Dorothea might have _said_ there was no need to be afraid, and yet…

The next thing Bernadetta knew, one of the human’s hands was snaking its way behind her. Before she could even _try_ to make a sound, those giant fingers were coiling around her tiny form. In a gentle yet secure hold, she was then scooped right up off of the desktop, lifted closer to Dorothea’s face. Trying to squirm free yielded no results, and eventually it got to the point where she was much too high to keep trying. Falling from this height was definitely something she wanted to avoid, no matter how much she hated being held.

Goddess, was she hyperventilating now? It _felt_ like she was, but honestly, Bernadetta couldn’t even tell for sure. Her heart was beating so frantically that it was practically pounding in her ears, making it difficult to hear pretty much anything else.

“Especially a friend as adorable as you are~”

Except for _that_ particular comment. 

Instantly, Bernadetta’s cheeks burned a bright shade of red, making her embarrassment clear as day. On the plus side, such feelings were almost enough to override her sheer terror and panic. Hopefully that meant she wouldn’t pass out this time...

Noticing her rather intense blush, Dorothea let out a brief little giggle before lightly ruffling Bernadetta’s hair with her thumb. 

“C’mon, can’t you tell me your name? Please?” she insisted with an eager, almost teasing tone.

Even if the young borrower _had_ been able to speak, it wouldn’t have really mattered. Not when the door opened yet again a few moments later, and in stepped Petra.

Well, technically Bernadetta couldn’t actually see that it was Petra until Dorothea turned to face that direction, but it went without saying that the sight of her trusted friend left Bernadetta feeling immensely relieved. 

Surely Petra would come to her rescue, right?

“Oh! There you are!” Dorothea greeted. “I was going to invite you to come to the dining hall with me, but instead I found this cute little friend of yours~” she went on, holding Bernadetta up a bit higher and practically showing her off like a trophy.

“D-Dorothea!” Petra all but exclaimed, quickly shutting the door behind her and rushing over toward her desk. She looked nearly as panicked as Bernadetta. “You must let her down immediately!”

For Bernadetta’s sake, Petra tried her best to keep her voice down. The urgency in her tone seemed to catch her _human_ friend completely by surprise, though.

Dorothea blinked several times in confusion before speaking again.

“What’s the matter? There’s no need to get so worked up.”

“Dorothea, please,” Petra persisted. “You are scaring her.” As she said those words, her tone was far from accusing or harsh—instead, it was gentle and pleading. 

And it was more than enough to show Dorothea the true gravity of the situation. Turning her gaze down to the tiny girl in her hands, it was only then that Dorothea seemed to realize just how utterly terrified Bernadetta looked.

“I… Oh.”

A somewhat guilty expression settled on her features as that realization really hit her, and it didn’t take long for Dorothea to bring her hands down to the desktop.

Bernadetta’s legs were practically like jelly by that point, so when Dorothea’s hands retreated, the young borrower honestly didn’t know if she would be able to stay on her feet for much longer. 

As such, after taking several shaky steps back, she decided to lower herself to a sitting position. For one, it helped with trying to get her breathing to even out, and for another… well, she was pretty sure that if she ended up collapsing, Dorothea might try reaching for her again—good intentions or not, that was still the last thing Bernadetta wanted.

“Bernadetta, are you alright?” Petra’s concerned voice reached her ears soon after that. 

For the most part, Bernadetta’s gaze has been almost entirely focused on Dorothea, waiting to see what the unfamiliar human would do next. But, with Petra’s question, the borrower finally looked her friend’s way to see that the magenta-haired girl was now kneeling on the floor just in front of the desk. Her hands rested on the very edge of the woodwork, kept well within Bernadetta’s line of sight.

And in response to that question, Bernadetta simply gave several quick nods, still unable to find her words. 

“I must offer you my apologies—I was not thinking something like this might happen,” Petra went on. She longed to reach out toward her tiny friend and offer some form of comfort, but she was certain that Bernadetta wouldn’t exactly appreciate that sort of gesture at the moment. Petra could clearly tell that she was still quite shaken from her encounter with Dorothea. 

“Dorothea is one of my closest companions—I am sure she did not mean any harm.”

“I really didn’t,” Dorothea chimed in, taking that as her cue to come and kneel beside Petra. She kept her own hands down by her lap, though. “Bernadetta, was it? I’m sorry if I scared you. But… I _did_ mean what I said earlier; any friend of Petra’s is a friend of mine.” 

“Y-Y-You don’t… have to apologize…” Bernadetta finally managed. Dorothea still intimidated her greatly, but at the very least, she could tell that the brunette’s words were sincere. 

Besides, if Dorothea and Petra really _were_ good friends, and Petra had been nothing but considerate these past few weeks, then… well, surely Dorothea was trustworthy enough. Definitely more than a bit overwhelming in some ways, but certainly not malicious. 

“Oh? Does that mean you’ll consider being my friend as well then?” Dorothea replied with a playful grin.

Bernadetta tried to return it with a smile of her own. A nervous, faint little smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“J-Just… n-no more grabbing. P-Please.” 

“Hmm… I suppose I can agree to that~”

“Bernadetta also does not wish to be known by others. Will you please keep her secret?” Petra added. She was quite pleased that her two friends seemed to be getting along now, though.

“Not a problem,” Dorothea replied to Petra before turning her attention back toward Bernadetta. That playful grin of hers grew just the slightest bit wider. “Besides, I’d much rather keep you all to ourselves~” 

As she said that, she reached out to gently ruffle Bernadetta’s hair once more, prompting the borrower’s blush to return full-force.

Yep, Dorothea could _definitely_ be pretty overwhelming. 


End file.
